Baby Review: A Sharp Depiction of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Hustlers Adrift in the Established Order
Channelling the urban restlessness and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, director Marcelo Caetano's unflinching drama focuses on those who inhabit the outskirts of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Fresh out of juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) stands at a pivotal juncture; abandoned by his parents, the impressionable young man finds solace in the arms of others.
On an late-night excursion with his boisterous group of gay and non-binary friends, Wellington encounters Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a muscular, charming hustler over double his age. Shrouded in the wavering neon of a XXX cinema, their first meeting is sensuous and erotic, with an edge of danger. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the clandestine realm of the sex trade and narcotics trafficking.
A Portrait of Empathy Instead of Sensationalism
Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with gentle sympathy instead of as a melodramatic morality play. Now using the alias Baby, he approaches his transactional encounters with swaggering confidence and touching naivety. To his patrons, Wellington provides not just his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.
In the feverish excitement of São Paulo, teeming with busy lanes and brightly painted facades, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as adrift individuals grasp at one another for momentary bliss.
"The city can be fraught with peril, yet they are the place where they can find their own family, too."
A Complex Relationship of Affection and Power
Ronaldo is both a lover and a protective father figure to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by envy and monetary insecurity. Intimidation from shady figures in the underworld pale in comparison to the anxiety about government monitoring and imprisonment, symbolized by the hovering figures of police officers on patrol.
Baby is particularly impactful as an astute portrait of the lost people who have fallen through the cracks the system. The film stands as a poignant examination into survival, non-biological kinship, and the pursuit of purpose within a unforgiving urban landscape.
